Improved SLA for Azure Virtual Machines

Up until now, Microsoft has guaranteed a 99.5% uptime SLA for IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) virtual machines. While this level of uptime is very good, it is not enough for critical applications which require 24×7 access.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/11/cloud-computing/improved-sla-for-azure-virtual-machines/

Microsoft Retires Azure RemoteApp

Today, in an announcement by Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Team, Azure RemoteApp is being retired.  Microsoft Azure RemoteApp is an application virtualization platform in the cloud.  Using Remote Desktop technology, applications can be presented to users without the need of installing anything on the user’s computer.  In addition to ease of management, it allows users to …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/08/cloud-computing/microsoft-retires-azure-remoteapp/

Backing Up Azure ARM VMs with new Azure Recovery Services

With classic VMs (virtual machines) hosted in Azure’s IaaS, backup can easily be done with Azure Backup. With the new generation of Azure VMs using ARM (Azure Resource Manager), there was a problem. Azure Backup could only see classic VMs and not the new generation. Well, this was a problem until this week when Microsoft …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/04/uncategorized/backing-up-azure-arm-vms-with-new-azure-recovery-services/

Azure Site-to-Site VPN

Microsoft Azure gateway objects give the ability to configure site-to-site or device-to-site VPN (virtual private network) connections. With a site-to-site VPN, your physical network will be connected to your Azure hosted virtual network. This is an easy way to create a hybrid cloud environment, where some of your servers are on your local network, and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/03/cloud-computing/azure-site-to-site-vpn/

Running WordPress with Azure SQL using Project Nami

Typically WordPress uses MySQL as the database back-end.  The guys over at Project Nami found a way to easily utilize Azure SQL instead.  This video will walk you through the deployment process.  The wizard creates the Azure SQL database, installs the WordPress website, and configures the firewall security rules for you.  Take a look and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/03/cloud-computing/running-wordpress-with-azure-sql-using-project-nami/

Introducing the Microsoft Azure Preview Portal

Microsoft has introduced the new Azure Preview Portal to create and manage your Microsoft Azure environment. This new portal is not only easier to use, but provides more detailed information and lots of new functionality. While there are still a few items which cannot yet be managed using the new portal (such as Azure Backup), most …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/03/cloud-computing/introducing-the-microsoft-azure-preview-portal/

SQL Database Geo Replication in Azure Portal

Designing your application for business continuity requires you to answer the following questions: Which business continuity feature is appropriate for protecting my application from outages? What level of redundancy and replication topology do I use?

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/02/cloud-computing/sql-database-geo-replication-in-azure-portal/

OneDrive for Business is now 5 TB

If you’re an Office 365 Enterprise customer, there is news from Microsoft.  OneDrive for Business storage will be increased from 1 TB to 5 TB allocated storage per user.  This is some good news in the wake of Microsoft announcing it was not going to honor its claim of unlimited storage for OneDrive (personal not business). 

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2016/01/cloud-computing/onedrive-for-business-is-now-5-tb/

How to Shrink Large SQL Transaction Log Files

SQL transaction log files should be maintained automatically by SQL Server, but sometimes grow too large when automatic maintenance is not being performed correctly. When this happens, transaction log files can grow unexpectedly large. It is important to take manual steps to shrink these files before they consume all available disk space.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2015/04/questions-answers/how-to-shrink-large-sql-transaction-log-files/

Rethinking Backup with Veeam

I am a worry wart when it comes to backing up data. For my critical systems, I never trust a single backup method, but rather I implement several different strategies for backup and disaster recovery. For the past two years, one of those methods has been using Veeam Backup and Recovery. Traditionally, Veeam has been …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2015/01/virtualization/rethinking-backup-with-veeam/

Top 10 Reasons User Groups are Good for Both You and Your Employer

Attending user group meetings can have many benefits to both you and your employer. Not all necessary skills and knowledge are gained simply from job experience and education alone. In addition to on-the-job training, an employee will garner much needed information from experts in the field and in turn add value to their employer when …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2015/01/learning-resources/top-10-reasons-user-groups-are-good-for-both-you-and-your-employer/

Why Do Servers Need More Memory As Time Goes On?

Have you ever noticed how a server tends to slow down over time? No, this isn’t simply your server getting old and tired. This is often caused by the same server needing more and more memory (RAM) as time passes. There are good reasons why this happens, and ways to minimize the effects. Here are …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2014/08/windows/windows-server-2008-r2/why-do-servers-need-more-memory-as-time-goes-on/

How to Set Your PC’s Default Printer

Your Windows PC or laptop may be configured to print to several printers. Some printers may be connected directly to your computer, while others are attached to the network. On each computer, one printer is defined as the default printer. The default printer is typically the printer to which all programs (Word, Excel, QuickBooks, etc.) …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2014/08/questions-answers/how-to-set-your-pcs-default-printer/

Export a Running Virtual Machine Using PowerShell

Exporting a Hyper-V VM (virtual machine) creates a full copy of that VM. This can be used as an easy way to create an ad-hoc backup or an archive. An export can also contain all of the existing checkpoints that exist, so it is a really helpful tool during deployments, migrations, and upgrades.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2014/07/virtualization/export-a-running-virtual-machine-using-powershell/

How to Delete a User Profile from the Registry

When deleting user profiles, it is advisable to use the built-in GUI (graphical user interface) interface in Windows (Start >> System >> Advanced System Settings >> User Profile – Settings). This should delete all references in the registry, and the user’s profile folder (normally located in C:\Users).  But what if this doesn’t work as it …

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.robertborges.us/2014/07/questions-answers/how-to-delete-a-user-profile-from-the-registry/